The Jockey Club

As part of a "relentless focus on welfare", the Jockey Club has announced a number of changes to the Randox Grand National, including reducing the maximum number of starters from 40 to 34. Having canvassed the views of a wide range of racing industry stake-holders as well as World Horse Welfare, the Jockey Club has settled upon five key changes to the Aintree showcase, which will be run next year on Saturday, April 13. Last year's race was delayed by 15 minutes after protestors invaded the track. One of the...

Ben Newman, a "committed animal rights campaigner" who was filmed running onto Epsom Downs during the running of this year's G1 Derby in June, has been given a suspended prison sentence for breaking a High Court's injunction. The Jockey Club, which owns and operates Epsom Downs, had received an injunction banning the animal rights group Animal Rising of which Newman is a member, prior to the Derby in June. Newman's two-month prison sentence was suspended for 18 months during contempt of court proceedings on Wednesday. Tim James-Matthews, for Newman, said...

Youth Experience Days, which will give more UK young people access to horses, have been launched by insurance broker and risk management firm Gallagher and The Jockey Club. The experience days give children from some of the UK's most disadvantaged communities an opportunity to visit racecourses, meet trainers and spend time with leading figures from around the industry. The effort came about following the results of a survey that indicated 40% of 12-18-year-olds would consider working with equines. Last week, 25 children from the Rio Ferdinand Foundation spent the day...

The Jockey Club projects a 2024 North American foal crop of 18,000, some 500 fewer foals than the 2023 foal-crop estimate of 18,500. The projection of the foal crop is made using the Reports of Mares Bred (RMBs) received to date by The Jockey Club for the 2023 breeding season. RMBs are due no later than Aug. 1 of each breeding season. Stallion owners who have yet to return their RMBs for the 2023 breeding season are encouraged to do so by The Jockey Club as soon as possible. Interactive...

Stars and unsung heroes from the world of jump racing were honoured Thursday, Sept. 21 at the sixth annual The McCoys in front of an invited audience at Cheltenham. In determining winners at The McCoys, performances over the course of the 2022-23 Jump season at all Jockey Club Racecourses that stage jump racing are taken into consideration namely Aintree, Carlisle, Cheltenham, Exeter, Haydock Park, Huntingdon, Kempton Park, Market Rasen, Sandown Park, Warwick and Wincanton. Among those honoured on the night was eight-time champion jump jockey Peter Scudamore, who received the...

Virgin Bet is the new sponsor for the G1 Sun Chariot S. at Newmarket on Oct. 7. In addition, Virgin Bet will also sponsor three more races on the card, as it expands its sponsorship portfolio across The Jockey Club. The company already sponsors races at Exeter, Kempton Park, Sandown Park and Wincanton. Part of the QIPCO British Champions Series, the Sun Chariot is the first Group 1 Flat race sponsored by Virgin Bet. Virgin Bet Marketing Director, Ric Leask, said, "We are hugely excited to expand our partnership with...

Are wet tracks more dangerous than dry ones? According to statistics compiled by the Jockey Club, the answer is no. The TDN reached out to The Jockey Club and asked it to dig into the Equine Injury Database and provide us with statistics regarding breakdowns and various dirt track and turf course conditions. The study was conducted by Dr. Euan Bennet and Professor Tim Parkin and covered the years 2021 and 2022. On the dirt, there were 419 fatalities on tracks listed as fast during those years from 308,954 starts....

Lexington, Kentucky native Alex G. Campbell Jr., who campaigned the likes of GSWs winner Karlovy Vary, Mean Mary and Bye Bye Melvin, died in Delray, Florida, Tuesday. He was 95. In addition to Karlovy Vary, who annexed Keeneland's GI Ashland S. in 2012, Campbell previously campaigned Turk O Witz, winner of the 1995 Santa Maria H. in addition to 1996 Big 'Cap scorer Mr Purple. Also running in his colors, dual graded stakes winner Ultra Brat, and Grade III victor It's Tea Time. A member of The Jockey Club for...

The Jockey Club's 'Transferred as Retired from Racing' process can now be completed digitally through the Interactive Registration (IR) website at registry.jockeyclub.com. Previously, the retired from racing process required notarized signatures on a hardcopy form. With the assistance of digital signature verification, The Jockey Club will be able to collect the signatures required to complete the retired from racing process through IR. "Being able to ensure a horse can still be used for breeding, but cannot race is important for many owners, and we wanted to make the retired from...

by Brent J Malmstrom "Leave no authority existing not responsible to the people."-Thomas Jefferson I was made aware The Jockey Club published an article "HISA is Necessary" which appears to be a direct response to my letter to the Editor Actions Detrimental. I would like to thank all the various industry participants who have reached out in support of what I shared and the concerns which were raised. The Jockey Club is a breed registry. The author perhaps without knowing has acted as an agent for the Authority and or...

Transcripts from Thursday's 71st Annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing are now available at jockeyclub.com. The event was held at the Saratoga Springs City Center in Saratoga Springs, New York, and streamed on The Jockey Club's website and Facebook page, and through multiple industry outlets. A video replay is also available. As the keynote speaker, Michael Lopez, senior director of Data and Analytics for the National Football League, discussed how data is analyzed to enhance and help better understand football and possible correlations with horse racing. Lindsay...

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." --Daniel Patrick Moynihan Letters to the editor are, by definition, opinions. You can disagree with an opinion, but you can't exactly say it's wrong. But when "facts" that are not facts are offered in support of an opinion, that is disinformation. The writer of the July 26, 2023, Thoroughbred Daily News letter to the editor slamming HISA could be the poster child for that. Over the past week I reviewed his criticisms with executives with HISA and HIWU...